Bomb salvage



June 6, 1950 w. G. AxTELL ETAL BOMB SALVAGE Filed Feb. 12, 1945 mw J m WW@ mw f @Ha Lpv/ s W We Fatented June 6, 1950 @come .semana wmara .afhaalt Arsenal; .Gamin naar, s

eine rammenta i '2g *.I'hefinvention describedis-lrerinmay `tre-manufactured and used "by orifor theiGove'i-nment, Yfor Vigcrvernmentalpurposes .without thejpayment to rusof anymoyaltytheren.

v"Jlfliislinvention relates 'broadlyto'amethod :and v#apparatus jfor.removing packed, 'graniiar fillings .fromlcontainers, and 'hasparticularfrelationifto a `method -and apparatus ,""for removing packed, Agranular, incendiary :dllings `from `'incendiary bombs famelidd-Aprl 30, 1925i; -3321) 19.

' iin Figure@ .TDuing the Apresent marfincendiaryfbonbs of `the iII'hermit-type'have been "made upfin bhemil- `1ionS. "Hiermit-type incendiary boxnbsyi'nrgenieral, contain .a 'I 'hermitltype charge lor j'iilling packed ina bomb'bodyfwhichfispreierably made vof magnesium,'but which may "be'niade "of "dther f metalsor ,plastics .111e other'maintypepf in- Vcendiary.bomblis' thatcontaining a fluid or gelled incendiarycharge'such as gasoline, oil, or gelled gasoline andfoil.

Very large numbers of incendiary bombs of the i IThermititype lat ltimes ='be'com'e"'b1iilt@upn storage, and often it is desirableitor'eplacethe incendiary @fillings of these bombs, ie'ither because improved types of incendiary llings had =`been made available, or because '.theellings with which '-.the bombs were originally .,.providedhave lieterorated over long periods 'fstorage Accordingly, the object of this invention, generally stated, is to provide a method and apparatus whereby the xpacked, Thermit llings can be safely and economically removed from the bomb bodies, thereby permitting large numbers of these bombs to be salvaged and refilled with improved or fresh fillings.

Other and more speciilc objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of this invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional view of a representative type of an incendiary bomb of the Thermit-type;

Figure 2 is a partial, vertical, sectional view showing the incendiary bomb body of Figure 1 disposed in apparatus for removing the incendiary ll'ing;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional view of a nozzle shown in Figure 2. forming a part Referring *toFigure "1 lt-l're @an iin- Cendiaiybonbis designatemgenerally,@a-t'il comprisinga hex'agonally "shaped -."o'orl`yff-I"fI @provided `with acast iron vnose 'I 2 :at its ilowe'r vie'irdand a. metal tail il 3 at its upper-fend. nffllllieibomb body "'islld Wit-hia-n incendiary'ciarge of va L4''Ih'erxriittype -compositio'n consisting aessen- 'tiallyv of vgranular aluminum (and :iiron lmilde, -togethervithanioxidizingmaterialisuch'iasfbarium vr'fit'rate l V*"Theffillin'g iM vis loaded v`'or `;packei "into the "body 'H eu'nderst'ibs'tatial -pre'`ssu`r\=.,. ple, ithe Acharge 14 "maybe V packed 4in fourfequal incrementsundera Head "load *pressure of uabout 6000 to 'IOOO'poundsper square-inch. Y

.firStilre'nXture TF5 'iis-pressed tinto lthex upper I'end 'jof the V`r'flfraiige "HL The irei'niiiture is adapted :to :be *ignited from 4an ignite'r iassiembly "indicated igenerallyat T6. 'Torpre'sentpurposes the details 'of *the construction-'oftheiigriiter I6 :fare "nottimpotait 'Bri'e'ilm `rthe ignltei' is spro- "vided with a "safety lpin tf1 'whichassume's :the armed position, .as shown, when anfinlipvfdual *bomb fusepa'rates infroirrtlie*cluster`ln-viiliich this type of bomb is normally dropped. Upon impact of the bomb I0, the firing pin I8 strikes a primer I9 which flashes into the first iire mixture I5, which in turn ignites the incendiary charge I4. As indicated above, large storesrof incendiary bombs of the type shown in Figure 1, have been stored up and have become more or less obsolete either because their incendiary lllng I4 has deteriorated, or improved types of lling have been developed. As stated, this invention is primarily concerned with efficient, safe, and economical method and apparatus for removing incendiary fillings, such as the lling I 4 shown in Figure 1.

Referring particularly to Figure 2 of the drawing, the bomb I0 of Figure 1, with tail and lgniter assembly removed, is shown held in a rotatable holder or chuck, indicated generally at 22.'

The chuck 22 consists of a stationary support member 23 underneath which a rotatable bearing 24 is held in place by a screw 25, as shown. A hexagonally shaped rotatable collar 26 is supported on the outer portion of the bearing 24 so that it may be freely rotated about its longitudinal axis.

Three equally `spaced clips 21 are Asecured ,to the sides of the colla;` 26 as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The three clips 21 extend beneath the cendiary filling.

' 3 lower end of the member 28 so as to grip and hold the nose I2 of the bomb I0 in the inverted position, as shown.

The incendiary filling removal apparatus is completed by a nozzle 30 shown in operating position in Figures 4 and 5. The nozzle 30 is provided with a removable end 3I which has four orifices or holes 32 extending therethrough from top to bottom at an angle of about 45, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The angle can be varied, but should preferably be substantially less than 90", The holes or orices 32 are so disposed that fluid jets emerge therefrom at an upward angle and also tangentially to a family of circles whose planes are normal to the longitudinal axis of the bomb whose centers lie on said axis and whose circumferences lie in the surface of a right circular cone co-axial with said surface. Fluid under pressure, such as water', air, or oil, is delivered to the nozzle 30 through a conduit 33.

vImmediately below the connection of the conduit 'lower end of the packed incendiary lling I4 and Vfluid under pressure is supplied thereto.

four jets of fluid, preferably water, which may or The may not be heated, emerge at high velocityr at the end of the nozzle 30 and impinge on the instreams or jets hit the packed filling I4 is suiiicient to eat into and simultaneously remove and pwash away the filling. The position of the nozzle 30 is progressively raised as the lling is removed y and the flutes 34 remove any remaining small patches of the filling from the interior of the Y bomb body II.

The tangential impact of the emerging jets upon the filling I4 is sufficient to cause rotation of the bomb Ill may be held in a non-rotatable chuck or holder and the nozzle or cutting head 30 may alone be rotated.

The invention as outlined above, has been used The force with which the the same is removed.

onl a large scale for reclaiming incendiary bombs that would otherwise have to be scrapped. The method and apparatus provided by this inventicn` have proved to be safe and economical. It Willbe understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the removal of incendiary fillingsuof the type described, but that it can be used in a number of other applications.

VWe claim:

l. The method of removing a longitudinally shaped, highly packedI granular incendiary filling from a longitudinal bomb body, which comprises, directing a plurality of high velocity fluid jets onto said lling at an angle substantially less than; 90 and in a direction tangential to a family ofjircles whose planes are substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the bomb body whose centcrslie in said axis and whose circumferences lie inv the surface of a right angular cone, co-axial with said axis, providing relative rotation between saidl filling and said jets, and advancing said fluid jets toward the face of said filling as the same is removed. Y

2. The method of removing a longitudinally shaped, highly packed, granular incendiary lling from a longitudinal bomb body, which comprises, directing a plurality of high velocity fluid jets onto said filling at an angle of about and in a direction tangential to a family of circles whose planes are substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the bomb body whose centers lie inY said axis and whose circumferences lie in the surface of a right angular cone, co-axial with.. said axis, providing relative rotation between said iillingand said jets, and advancing said fluid jets toward the face of said lling as wnLARD G. AXTEIL. GEORGE H. TODD.

REFERENCES crrED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date.

864,560 Ritter Aug. 27, 1907 1,492,924 Knight -s May 6, 1924 

